THE spokesman for Andre Leonard, Belgium’s ultra-conservative archbishop, quit this week, saying he could no longer speak for a “loose canon,” who has shocked Catholics by sympathising with priests accused of paedophilia and condemning homosexuals.
Juergen Mettepenninge
The resignation of spokesman Juergen Mettepenningen reflected turmoil in Belgium’s Catholic Church that began with a June 24 police raid on church offices, part of an investigation into hundreds of cases of sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests.
Aggravating matters – at a time when the church needed public support – the batty old Archbishop spouted a load of tosh about gays, calling AIDS “immanent justice” for homosexuals, and saying that prosecuting retired priests for child abuse cases would be “vengeful.”
Mettepenningen said Leonard was out of touch with Belgium’s Catholic base.
At times, he behaved like a loose cannon who thinks everybody else is wrong. I was his GPS for three months. But it is the driver who has his hands on the wheel and sets the course.
In recent weeks, mainstream Catholic organisations have publicly spoken out against Leonard’s barmy views.
On Tuesday, socialist legislator Jean-Marie de Meester filed a complaint against him with Belgium’s anti-racism centre for his homophobia.
Mettepenningen said Leonard had ignored an agreement between the two of them to refrain from controversial statements until Christmas.
But at an All Saints Mass in Brussels on Monday, Leonard spoke publicly – and unapologetically – about his conservative views.
In an interview with the Brussels daily De Standaard last weekend, Mettepenningen first signalled he had had enough. He said:
Archbishop Leonard
Many people wonder, ‘How does he (Mettepenningen) keep this up? Well, I ask myself the same question.
In Belgium, at least 500 people have filed sex abuse cases against priests with the Brussels’ prosecutor’s office. The most notable one involves Roger Vangheluwe, the former bishop of Bruges who resigned in April after admitting he sexually abused a nephew for years.
As the archbishop of Belgium, Leonard is the country’s Roman Catholic primate. He was appointed on Jan. 18 by Pope Benedict XVI whose choice for a very conservative hand on the wheel of the Belgian church disappointed many in this country.
Leonard succeeded Godfried Danneels who was more moderate but whose reputation was blemished by the church abuse scandal, which broke after his retirement and has shown him as lack-lustre in cracking down on abusing priests.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
November 4th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
No chance of alternative employment with Ratzy then as his views seem identical to those of the archbishop. I suppose that is why Nasty Ratzy appointed Loony Leonard. These characters really are on a different planet. Pity more of their flock don’t get that message.
November 4th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Appalling double standards, this little piece pf excrement is as far removed from being a “christian” as one can possibly be.
November 4th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Angelo: “this little piece of excrement is as far removed from being a “christian†as one can possibly be.”
Read the Bible. He’s spot on, just like Fred Phelps. It’s just that most christians don’t actually follow their book of hate to the logical conclusion.
Am I the only one who read ‘…an agreement between the two of them to refrain from controversial statements until Christmas’ and mentally added ‘and Santa might bring you a train-set’?
November 4th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
@Angelo
Perhaps he just isn’t a “true christian”. In my occasional encounters with christians they have helped me understand that there are many gradations of christian:
1. A christian who agrees in every detail with their view (and these vary enormously amongst the many sects and cults) is “a true christian.”
2. A christian who more or less agrees is a christian.
3. Someone thought to have been an exemplar, until exposed, of true christianity like a child abusing priest (no shortage there) or a child pornography loving C. of E. vicar is not a true christian. So, when I mention the abominable behaviour of a paedo priest the response is, “he is obviously not a true christian.”
4. An atheist known to have performed good deeds is “a christian underneath and he will one day realise that.” The point here being that atheists must be wicked, they cannot be other, so if they are kind then they are just christians waiting to see the light.
5. The Pope is a true christian to his devout flock while he is the devil incarnate to fundamentalist Protestants. The Archbishop of Canterbury is whatever you want as his views remain largely an excercise in obfuscation and, as he is a highly intelligent man, I suspect this miasma of superstition which he nurtures is deliberate.
6. Those who appear on the dire BBC Thought for the Day – and here the judgement becomes somewhat slippery – are “people of faith.” No-one knows what that means and I look forward to an appearance of a Satan Worshipper as he or she would definitely be a person of faith.
7. Celibate gays are christians, if they wish, according to RCs but the slope to hell is steep and slippy for them. Woman priests are, again according to RCs, an abomination.
Hope this helps but I doubt it.
November 4th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
@ Daz
I read that bit about Christmas several times and I just couldn´t get it. I mean, why Christmas?
All clear now, thanks very much.
November 4th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Why does this guy need a spokesman exactly? Why doesn’t he just speak for himself? Do we suppose that he suffers from foot in mouth disease so badly that he needs someone to present a sanitised version of everything he says?
November 5th, 2010 at 11:34 am
To DAZ: I’ve read the GOSPELS and where Jesus says zilch about homosexuality,he says that those who abuse children better they never being born and they should be thrown in the sea with a mill stone at the neck. Jesus had a beloved disciple, and was probably BI.
November 5th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Dude, working from sources outside the Jewish tradition and the NT, you’d be hard-pressed to show that Jesus even existed, let alone what his sexuality was. The Gospel of John, self-attributed to ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’ can’t even be shown to have been written by the disciple John.
Anyway, Fundies apparently believe that Romans trumps anything said by Jesus, so that one doesn’t wash. Not that I’d accuse them of looking for passages to support their prejudices. Oh, wait. Yes I would.
As for abusing children, I’d say the killing of every child on the planet during the flood and the mass-slaughter of the Egyptian first-born would count as the ultimate abuse. Or does ‘abuse’ only count if it’s sexual in nature? Speaking as one who suffered violent abuse, I’m kind of interested in that…
November 5th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Did anyone else read the story about the snake that gave birth by means of parthenogenesis?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi.....139971.stm
This means that “Jesus” would have been female!
November 5th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Ah, but doesn’t the snake represent the Great Deceiver? Could be a problem with interpretation here.
November 5th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
There have been comments elsewhere about the irony of The Serpent being involved in a Virgin Birth, but “Jesus” would have obviously been a clone of Mary. Pity that the Monty Python team didn’t think of that angle!
November 5th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
He’s not the messiah. He’s a very naughty boa!
I’ll get me coat.
November 5th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
“He’s snaking it up as he goes along!”
November 5th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Groan! Thank you for making mine look good…
November 6th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Daz, I agree with you, but I believe Jesus existed and was teaching love, solidarity and charit. I don’t believe anything else on tjhe Bible. The God of the old testament was a mass murderer, Jesus was Love.
November 8th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Just want to document the fact that Archbishop Leonard got a pie in the face at Sunday services
http://blogs.reuters.com/faith.....rchbishop/